Healthy Mind, Healthy Body. Going good so far :)

Well, the new lifestyle of healthy eating and exercise is definitely paying off. I am pleased to say that my vow to STOP dieting has worked. 

I have been cycling every day, most days for 60 minutes, other days for 90 minutes. Also been *enjoying* healthy foods, lots of water and enough sleep. I have lost 6kg in 7 weeks and that is around about what I was expecting. Next weigh in is in 13 weeks so hoping to lose 12-13kg in that time, I think I can do it :) Will re-assess how much I have to lose after that and then final goal will be in December.

I have found that healthy eating and exercise has improved my mind as well as my body. My quality of sleep has improved, my Fibromyalgia pain has absolutely become LESS and much easier to deal with, anxiety is 1000 times better than it was. My patience has improved, I've stopped worrying about irrational things and the best thing of all, my periods have become regular (first time they've been regular since Owen was born). The only drawback to all of this is that I'm getting quite a lot of pimples. I know it's nothing to worry about as 1) toxins are released out of my body and they need to exit somewhere (in zits lol) and 2) exercising = sweating. Sweat = pimples. Apart from washing my face after each workout, there's not a lot else I can do. I figure a few pimples until December is a small price to pay anyway!

I have also found that I enjoy treats such as chocolate, cookies, pizza etc much more since starting this new way of life. I used to eat two family blocks of chocolate per day, pizza or take away was either every night or every second night and cookies...well...they were eaten by the pack, by the day. I haven't had much chocolate or pizza (no cookies) in the last 7 weeks but when I have had them, I've found I really enjoyed them as a treat on the weekend. Instead of wolfing down an entire pizza, I'd eat some for dinner and the rest for lunch the next day. Instead of eating 2 blocks of chocolate in one day, I made one block last from Friday night - Sunday night. Basically, I've learnt to stop binging and it feels like I've escaped from that monster of an Eating Disorder :) Some weekends I don't even want those treats and will instead indulge in some expensive fruit, low fat cheese and wine. 

I wake up each day feeling more energetic than I have in years. I also have more energy to play with my son and I enjoy cooking dinners packed full of nutrients, vitamins and most importantly, flavour! My husband has even developed some new healthy habits and enjoys the healthy meals we have at night much more than the crap we used to cook, or more often, order. Think I may just be inspiring him to start his own weight loss journey some time soon :)

It was a year ago I was diagnosed with an incurable illness (Fibromyalgia) and I can honestly say that I never thought that in a years time I would feel the healthiest I have in a long time. Nor did I ever imagine I'd be a dress size down, on the contrary, I thought I would gain weight rather than lose it as a lot of FM patients do. I've proved that *ANYONE* can do this and I can't weight to blog about the further weight loss and improvements in 3 months time. Bring on Spring!!!

The picture below is of me when I was 18 years old - a decade ago. It's what inspires me to keep going :)